Forest Encounters

    The forests of northern New Mexico are central to discussions of its complex interplay between culture and natural environment. After spending time hiking through some of the gorgeous woods, we got the opportunity to hear from the National Forest Service, at their office in Santa Fe. First we met with Ruben Montez, then with the public affairs officer, Lawrence, who each gave us some idea of the Forest Service's role and current projects. Traditionally, the Forest Service has played a major role in fire prevention and fire control, emerging with the internationally known Smokey the Bear as the mascot for fire prevention. Smokey, who is from New Mexico, is still widely used in campaigns, especially for kids, and the Forest Service is still active in fore prevention. However, science has come to discover that not all fire is bad; in fact, the forest has evolved with natural, periodic fires, and thus our total prevention of them over the last century has not been beneficial. Small, low intensity fires help burn away the underbrush in the forests, keep tree density favorable, and allow for healthier new growth. When underbrush is allowed to build up, and tree density is not thinned, then those human-caused fires that get out of control cause incredible, unnatural amounts of damage, as they are able to rage through the high-fuel woods. Thus the Forest Service now aims to manage the forests through periodic thinning and burning. Their current focus is on the CFRP: the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program. This program aims to incorporate and find agreement among several concerned groups that have historically fought over forest issues, including  local community members who rely on forest use, environmentalists, the National Forest Service, Native American tribes, and local business owners. A federal advisory committee, consisting of these various people, chooses which proposed projects receive grants.
     Later that afternoon, after satisfying our sudden, urgent need for donuts, we got to meet with a CFRP grant recipient, David Cordova. David's father, Max Cordova, is known for his activity with the Alianza, a Chicano group who fought for local rights to the forest. Many New Mexican communities, including Truchas, have historically relied on logging as a livelihood. When the Forest Service began to ban forest use by locals in the 1900s, they naturally fought back, and this tension still exists today. David explained that they never felt they were misusing the forests; they only took what they needed, and came to intimately know those woods, yet a federal agency controlled their relationship to the land. However, the Forest Service has better intentions now than it did at times in the past, and the CFRP seems like a step in the right direction. David walked us through the forest, explaining the process of tree thinning. We also saw the deadly effects of the mistletoe fungus, one of the natural phenomena that can emerge despite man's careful management of the forest.
    It was wonderful to hear two different perspectives on forest issues, from our nation's forest managers,  then from a local native who understands the community. The perspectives were not completely in agreement, yet not completely at odds, and it gave us a fairly well-rounded picture of this complex topic.
    Emily Deitchler